Telling youg children why you have a cpap

[piggy mask girl]

I have to go and see my 7 year old Grandaughter in a few weeks and she often comes in my room to wake me up in the morning. I am planning on showing the machine to her the night before and giving simple explanation on how it works and why I need to wear it. I don't think I will have a lot of trouble with this; however, I see it is not a topic on the site. I thought I would bring it up because things can be scary for children if they don't understand. Perhaps you have some fun stories to share.

[spacetoast]

Tell them it's your Snore Muffler.

When I was very young, I remember going to my grandparent's house and being scared of both of their monstrous snoring sounds! If only they were on xpap...

Please report back when you get a chance. I have a two-year old and will have to explain it to her at some point.

[BlackSpinner]

I like the snore muffler idea.
It really depends on the child - if she is a space dogs fan you can explain the idea of getting more air.
Don't under estimate the kids. You could inspire a new generation of medics and astronauts

[Froro]

I was just honest with my younger ones when I brought the machine home. I showed it to them., put it on, let it run. I didn't want them to be scared of this thing mommy was hooked up to. I explained that my throat got lazy at night and this would keep it open so I could breath properly. They knew I snored badly so I also told them that this would help keep mommy from snoring too.

My little man simply said "cool" , liked the venting holes and said mommy would be his built in air conditioner in the summer if he got hot. LOL

[sleepycarol]

I have grandkids and one of mine often spent the night with grandma. She was 4 at the time and at times would complain about my snoring. When I brought my machine home and she came over I simply showed her how it worked, let her feel the air coming out of it, put it on a few seconds, and explained it would help me breathe at night. She was accepting of it and never acted afraid of it. I now have a 3 year old granddaughter that spends the night and since I have had my machine 2 years she doesn't remember grandma not having it.

[rosiefrosie]

My grandchildren will crawl in bed with me when they spend the night and we will snuggle. I showed them the machine & my mask and explained it in terms they could understand. Didn't seem to bother them at all. I think the snoring scared them more than the machine & mask.

Rosie

[MoneyGal]

My five-year-old likes to sleep next to me to feel the air blowing on her. My seven-year-old will bring friends into my room to say, look - there's my mom's breathing machine! My kids have been completely non-plussed about my CPAP therapy from day one. They are my role models for integrating CPAP into my life, actually.

[Ganesha]

I explained the CPAP to my two grandaughtes, ages 2 and 5. We talked about snoring and had fun making some snoring noises. Then I showed them what I had to help me stop snoring. We made a few elephant jokes and it was all a non-issue.

Mark

[LittasGabby]

Thank you for bringing up this topic. I have a 3 year old Granddaughter who often spends the night with me. To make matters worse, we just bought her a 4 piece bedroom set, and she is transitioning into sleeping in a "big girl" bed in a room by herself. I will be sleeping in a room just across the hall with my new CPAP! I was very worried about the two transitions, and I appreciate all of the comments and stories. My granddaughter has just started to wake me up when she was awakened by my snoring, so hopefully the "Snore Muffler" explanation will help!

[grandmma]

Tell them it's your Snore Muffler.

Although I've only had my machine 2 years, my grandkids have just accepted my machine, it's not an issue. Plus when they stay over, they sleep far longer than I do, so never come in while I'm still using it.

My son's kids have always been around his too, interestingly enough they call it his "snore machine".

I agree, don't underestimate them, tell them the basics and they just accept.

[stanps]

To my 11 year old daughter it is just part of the whole "my dad is weird" package.

[jdm2857]

With kids. it usually best to let them guide the conversation.

Show them the machine and mask, and tell them that it helps you breathe while you sleep.

Their questions should guide you from there. Answer then honestly.

When they are satisfied, stop.

[Uncle_Bob]

To my 3 & 4 year olds its my "space mask".

I think they named it that after they saw the cosmic patterns of my PapCap.

[Muse-Inc]

...When they are satisfied, stop.

So important! People provide soooooo much info, they confuse the listener. Let kids ask for more. I'm close to the kids across the street (8, 10, 11) who are curious and wanna know where we've been when we come home (shopping, etc) and saw me leave for my PSG 2 yrs ago. I told 'em I was going to be evaluated when I slept to see if there was some way I could be helped to sleep better and not be so tired all the time. Next day they wanted some details, so I told 'em about all the head wires and sticky goop (still had bits of it in my hair), the chest and abdomen and leg wires, the mask, the infrared CCTV. Later, they noticed me carting the travel case in and came to investigate (kids are so curious), so I showed it to 'em. Thankfully, they didn't want a demo 'cause I wasn't so sure I could set it up and demo-ing the mask was a bit much for me at that point.

[cajun]

My 4-year-old son is big on Star Wars and other space-related stuff, so he thinks my mask is pretty "cool." I simply told him that it helps me sleep. He begged to try it on and was pretty excited when I draped the Swift LT over him.